Translation of the letters of a Hindoo rajah, to which is prefixed a ..., Nide 2

and put anend to all government: " Then/' says this credulous philosopher, " shall we see the perfection of virtue! Not such virtue, it is true, as has heretofore passed current in the world. Benevolence will not then be heard of; gratitude, will be considered as a crime, and punished with the contempt it so justly deserves. Filial affection would, no doubt, be treated as a crime of a still deeper dye, but that, to prevent the possibility of such a breach of virtue, no man, in the age of reason, shall be able to guess who his father is; nor any woman to fay to her husband, behold your son. Chastity, shall then .be considered as a weakness, and the virtue of a female estimated according as she has bad sufficient energy- to break its mean restraints. "To what sublime heights," exclaims this sapient philosopher, "may we not expect that virtue will then be seen to soar !—By destroying the domestic affections, what an addition will be made to human happiness! And wheu man is no longer coirupted by the tender and endearing ties of brother, sister, wife, and child, how greatly will his dispositions be meliorated! The fear of punishment too, that ignoble bondage, which, at present, restrains the energies of so many great men, will no longer damp the noble ardour of the daring robber, G %

or the midnight thief. Nor will any man then be degraded by working for another. The divine energies of the foul will not then be stifled by labouring for support. What is necessary, every individual may, without difficulty, do for himself. Every man shall then till his own field, and cultivate his own garden.''—" Aud pray how are the Ladies to be clothed in the age of reason?" asked Miss Ardent.—" Any Lady," replied the. philosopher, "who chooses to wear clothes, which, in this cold climate, may by some be considered as a matter of necessity, must herself pluck tire wool from the back of the sheep, and spin it on a distaff, of her own making." " But, she cannot weave it/' rejoined Miss Ar-* dent, " without a loom; a loom cannot well be made without iron tools, and iron tools can have no existence without the aggregated labours of many individuals." "True," returned Mr. Vapour: and it is therefore probable, that in the glorious æra I speak of, men will again have recourse to the skins of beasts ,for covering; and these will be procured according to the stiength and capacity of the individual. A summer's dress, may be made of the skins of mice, and such animals; while those of sheep, hares, horses, dogs, &c. may be worn in win

ter. Such things may, for a time, take place. But as the human mind advances to that perfection, at which, when deprived of religion, laws- and government, it is destined to arrive, men will, no doubt, possess sufficient energy, to resist the effects of cold; and to exist, not only without clothing, but without food also. When reason is thus far advanced, an effort of the mind will be sufficient to prevent the approach of disease, and stop the progress of decay. People will not then be so foolish as to die." "I can believe, that in the age of reason, women won't be troubled with the vapours," replied Miss Ardent, "but, that they should be able to live without food and clothing is another affair." "Women!" repeated Mr. Vapour, - with a contemptuous smile; " we shall not then be troubled with—women. In the age of reason, the world shall contain only a race of men!!"

Nothing could be more repugnant to the opinions of Miss Ardent, than this assertion —This worthy daughter of Sereswati i3 firmly persuaded, that, in the. age of reason, a very different doctrine will be established. It is her opinion, that the perfection of the female understanding will then be universally acknowledged.

She pants for that blessed peiiod, when the eyes of men shall no longer be attracted by the charms of youth and beauty; when mind, and mind alone, shall be thought worthy the attention of a philosopher.

In that wished-for æra, the talents of women, she says, shall not be debased by household drudgery, or their noble spirits broken by bale submission, to usurped authority. The reins will then be pot into the hands of wisdom; and as women will, in the age of reason, probably be found to have the largest share, it is they who will then drive the chariot of state, and guide the steeds of war!

Mr. Axiom, whose deference to the opinions of Miss Ardent is implicit and unvariable, perfectly coincides in her

opinion. "Who," said he, the other

evening, in discoursing upon this subject; " who would look for mind, in the insipid features of a girl? It is when the countenance has acquired a character, which it never can do under the period of forty, that it becomes an object of admiration, to a man of sense. Ah! how different is the sentiment which it then inspires!" The tender sigh, which was heaved by Mr. Axiom, at the conclusion of this sentence, in vibrating on the ears of Miss Ardent, seemed to touch some
pleasant unison, that overspread her countenance with a smile. You, my friend, will, I doubt not, smile also, as hearing of these glad tidings for grandmothers; and divert yourself with thinking, when this empire of reason shall be extended to the regions of the East, wTbat curious revolutions it will make in the Zenanas of Hindoostan !—May the Gods of our fathers preserve thee- from the spirits of the deep—and the systems of philosophers! What can I soy more?

LETTER XVI.

A Y He, who at all times claims preference in adoration, preserve thee!!

The day after that in which I last took up the reed of instruction, some strangers arrived at Ardent Hall, who had come into the couutry, on purpose to see a celebrated water-fall,—on whose beauties, they poured out such encomiums, as kindled the flame of curiosity in my bosom.

I no sooner expressed my desire of visiting this scene of wonders, than Sir Caprice, with great politeness, ordered the chief officer of his household to attend me thither.—It was natural to expect, that some of the philosophers might